-The Business Standard The new institution could play the role of a 'think tank' A high-level meeting to frame a new body to replace the Planning Commission is learnt to have arrived at a broad consensus that allocation of Plan funds should not be the domain of the new entity but of the finance ministry. The new institution, it was agreed, could play the role of a "think tank". Officials in the...

-The Indian Express Families have a preferred number of sons at any given fertility level as well as a preferred fertility level.   In his maiden Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lamented the neglect of daughters, restrictions on their movements, parental attitudes that favoured sons, shameful rapes of girls and women, the lack of toilet facilities and sanitation. In a populist vein, he urged parents to treat sons and daughters...

-Outlook Bhubaneshwar: 'Universal Identity Cards' would be issued to people with disabilities for which a survey would begin next month to ascertain the exact number of disabled people in the country, Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said today. "The census figure does not provide a clear and proper picture on the actual number of disabled persons. Our ministry has decided to conduct a country-wide survey to identify people...

-Economic and Political Weekly The relationship between depleting water levels and school dropout rates is poorly studied. As chronic water shortages begin to affect more regions of the country, this trend will begin to appear more forcefully. Kishore Jha (kishor.delhi6@gmail.com) is working on child rights with Terre des Homes, Germany. Devender, a 14-year-old boy from Kheeda village in Almora district in Uttarakhand State, studies in Class 8. He spends at least three hours...

-Vikalp The contribution of education in economic development has been investigated since the early 1960s, originating in the University of Chicago (Schultz, 1961; Becker, 1964), championed by the Human Capital School - in which expenditure on education is regarded as an investment. It was argued through the endogenous growth theory (Lucas, 1988; Romer, 1990) that spending in education is crucial for increasing labour productivity and accelerating the pace of economic growth....